Discovery
by AikoTsuki
Summary: When Doofenshmirtz finds out he has a son, things get complicated. Even more so when he finds out who his son is, and what happened to him. I DON'T OWN PHINEAS AND FERB, DON'T MAKE ME DO DISCLAIMERS FOR EVERY FREAKING CHAPTER. Rated T for romantic moments and some language. I WILL NOT UPDATE UNTIL I GET AT LEAST ONE REVIEW!
1. Games we don't wanna play

**Hi there! Once again, I will be including my OC, Katrina, only this time her father is Rodney, which creates some family problems.**

* * *

><p>The day started out as any ordinary day for Katrina. As usual, she was the first to wake up. According to her father,evil geniuses "stay up late and sleep late," so she was usually the one who made breakfast for the three of them. Today she was going to make pancakes, which her younger brother, Orville (or, "Orvy" as she called him) loved. Maybe he'd be nice to her today.<p>

While the stove was heating up, Kat stepped outside to grab the news. The front page had a big expose on the OWCA, which her dad would like. She decided to make some coffee (so no one would be grouchy, at least not for too long) and started to hum a happy tune while making breakfast. She knew her father hated it, but she didn't care. He wouldn't be up for a while.

Breakfast made (and after she used one of her dad's -izers to keep breakfast warm), she sat down to read the article. What she read... was startling.

Heinz Doofenshmirtz, on the other hand, was _not _a morning person. When he walked in to the kitchen to be greeted by a too-cheery Norm, all he did was growl and grab a cup of coffee. He looked at the newspaper. Something about the OWCA keeping a big secret about one of it's agents, but he was too groggy to understand what the article was saying. That's when his cellphone started to ring. _Monogram_ is what the Caller ID said.

"What do you want, Francis?" Heinz growled.

"Did you see today's news?"

"Yeah. What about it?"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Uh-huh." He took a sip of coffee.

"It's about your son."

Heinz spewed coffee all over the table. "MY WHAT?!"


	2. Same before, same again

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian: You're about to find out.**

**No Kat in this chapter. But she becomes important, I promise.**

**BTW, I got the idea from the fanfic "Silence Hurts." Just thought I'd give the author credit.**

* * *

><p>"MY WHAT?!" Heinz shouted.<p>

"Your son," Francis repeated. "Do you remember Linda, your old girlfriend?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Seventeen years ago, she brought her illegitimate son to the OWCA, claiming he was your child. However, the child was unrecognizable, not even looking human any more. She claimed it had happened in an experiment gone horribly wrong, and gave me full custody over the child."

"I'm coming over right now!" Heinz said, grabbing his lab coat and running out the front door.

He met up with Francis a few minutes later outside OWCA headquarters. "Where's my son?!" Heinz demanded. "I want to meet him!"

"You already have. Since the child _looked _like an animal, we were able to make him an agent for the OWCA," Francis explained. "Of course, now that you know that means you and Linda now share joint-custody over the boy."

At the same time, Perry came out with a newspaper, which he nervously handed to Francis.

"Go ahead," Francis said. "He was going to figure out you could talk eventually."

"Is it really true?" Perry asked. "What they said in the newspaper?"

Francis nodded.

"What's Dr. D doing here, anyways?" Perry asked.

"I'm here because Francis has been holding my son hostage for seventeen years!"

"Seventeen?" Perry asked. "So there's someone my age around here?"

That's when it finally clicked for Heinz. Francis just confirmed it.

"Perry, I would like you to meet your father, Heinz Doofenshmirtz. Now that _both _of you know, you'll be alternating between Linda and Heinz's houses every other week, all right? I would suggest you get your things. You're going home with him."

The car ride home was silent. Not the not the usual silence, a more awkward one.

Heinz cleared his throat. The silence was killing him. "So, um, what all did you know?"

Perry shrugged, looking out the window. "Not much, just that I was a mutant _freak," _he said, looking out the window. "I kinda hoped my parents wanted me, but I figured it wasn't true. Guess I was right."

"Hey!" Heinz said, startled. "I never said I didn't want you!"

"But it's true, isn't it? Your own nemesis, your son? Not only that, but a freak who isn't even human any more? It's okay, I understand."

They pulled into DEI's parking lot. Heinz didn't know what to say. He'd been shocked when he found out, and found it all a little strange, but he still wanted Perry. He felt like he'd failed when it came to raising Vanessa, and he didn't want to screw this one up. It was a new start. Right?

* * *

><p>The next day, Heinz was still worried about being a good dad to Perry. So he decided to go talk to Linda.<p>

He knocked on the door. He recognized Linda, but she looked older and calmer. "Umm, Linda? It's me, Heinz."

"Come to talk about Perry?"

He nodded.

"Come inside. Do you want some tea?"

"Yes. Thank you."

Tea made, the two sat down in the living room. "So, what's up? I already have three kids- well, four, so I'm sure I can help."

"Three other kids besides Perry?"

"Yes. Well, one's my stepson, but the other two are all mine."

"How do you do it?" he asked. "My daughter _hates _me. I bet Perry hates me. My daughter doesn't tell me anything, acts like I'm a total embarassment, doesn't take any interest in anything I do-"

"First of all, I'm pretty sure your kids don't hate you. You would have to do something unspeakable for that to happen. Secondly, you need to try to understand your kids. Figure you how they think, what they like, and try to connect with them."

On the drive home, Heinz was deep in thought. How well did he _really _know Perry? Not hardly at all, actually. He knew he was a secret agent, hated evil, and well... he knew a little about Perry's past. Just when Perry foiled his schemes and how he came to work for the OWCA, though.

Perry was a fresh start. He _had _to do this right.


	3. Where we get together

**Woo hoo! I got reviews! I was worried I wouldn't, because my last few Phineas and Ferb fanfics went essentially ignored.**

**Oh my god. Best song to write to- Moonlight Shadow (Nightcore's version). It's awesome.**

**In any case, I hope this one turns out okay. Two weeks of college trig has been frying my brain.**

* * *

><p>"You promise you won't try and take over the Tri-State area or anything?" Perry asked, incredulous.<p>

Heinz nodded. "Promise. I realized I didn't really know you that well and, since you're my son and all-"

"Okay," Perry said, grabbing his hand and dragging him out the front door. "Let's go!"

They walked to a cafe a few blocks from DEI. "So, um, what do you want to know about me?" Perry asked. His face didn't give anything away, but he sounded nervous.

"I guess the basics. You know, what sort of things you like," Heinz said. "I'm kind of making this up as I go along."

"Hmmm..." Perry looked out the window, deep in thought. His eyes widened. "Whoa."

"What is it?" Heinz asked.

Perry pointed at a figure sitting outside. "Who's she?"

Heinz looked at the person Perry was pointing at. It was one of Vanessa's friends. "I think her name's Kat. She and Vanessa have been best friends since they were little."

Perry stared at her dreamily. "She's beautiful."

Heinz raised an eyebrow. She honestly didn't look like a normal person. How many people out there had naturally purple hair and huge gold eyes? He guessed her clothes might have helped her blend in, but wasn't sure.

"Why don't you go talk to her?" Heinz asked. "She's a really nice girl."

Perry's head slammed into the table. "No way! Everyone thinks I'm a platypus, remember?! She'd probably scream and run away if I tried to talk to her! If only I were normal!"

Heinz patted his son's back. "I think I can help with that. If I could figure out what exactly happened to you, maybe I could try to reverse it."

He looked up. Heinz realized Perry's face probably couldn't show emotion, but he sure sounded hopeful. "You'd do that? Really?"

"Of course! I want you to be happy!"

* * *

><p>The next two weeks were a blur. In the mornings they'd wake up, Heinz would make some Inator, and Perry would stop him. That's when Perry would go hang out in his room and Heinz would retreat to his lab, trying to figure out a way to make Perry human again.<p>

Finally, the day came for Perry to go back to his mother's house.

"Promise you won't try and take over the Tri-State area while I'm gone?" Perry asked in the car.

Heinz smiled. "Promise. It's no fun without you there to try and stop me."

They pulled up to the Flynn-Fletcher house. Perry gulped. "I wonder if Mom told them about me." They walked out of the car, only to be tackled by Phineas, Ferb, and their friends.

"Perry!" They shouted.

Phineas was grinning. "It's cool that you're our brother," Phineas said. "Wanna help with our latest plan? We're building an indoor ice-skating theme park in the backyard."

"Sure!"

Heinz smiled, watching the kids run into the backyard for a few moments before getting back into the car. While it's true that Perry didn't talk much, it still felt quiet with him gone.

The next three days went by quickly. No plots or Vanessa to distract him, Heinz made some breakthroughs in figuring out how to make Perry human again. By the end of the two weeks, he'd nearly finished it. The next time Perry came over, he'd be a human.

* * *

><p>Kat was... different. Not in a bad way, mind you. It's just that she could do things no one else could. But that was fine with her, except when it kept her from having a love life. All that mattered was fighting Mad Hatter.<p>

And, boy, was he crazy. And intelligent. And powerful.

She wiped the blood from her mouth. "That the best you can do?" She snarled at Hatter, who was standing by with that infuriatingly calm, arrogant smile.

"Actually, no."

All around her, figures started to rise from the shadows. They had humanoid forms, but they weren't people. Never were.

She grinned. "Too easy."

The creatures launched themselves at her all at once. She jumped high into the air, landing on the roof six stories above her. _Oops. Went a bit high. _ She smiled and jumped onto the balcony two floors below her. Meanwhile, Hatter was sending his goons into the building to find her.

"Keep her away from the Mind Ray!" He shouted.

She rolled her eyes. Seriously? Mind Ray? It was always something-Ray. Seriously, she'd settle for an _Inator_ at this point, just to shake things up. Oh well.

She wrapped her legs around a ceiling beam, hanging upside down as she started to dismantle the device. Unlike some villains, Hatter almost never installed a "Self-Destruct" button, much to her dismay.

The machine fell apart, crashing to the floor. She winced at the noise, hearing the sounds of Hatter's goons running down the hall towards her. She turned to the window, but that was blocked by ninjas.

She let herself fall to the floor, landing on her feet in a crouched position. The ninjas stepped aside to reveal-

Hatter.


	4. New hope, new destinies

**Another update!**

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian: yeah, I know she doesn't do much right now. But trust me, she comes in a bit more during this chapter.**

* * *

><p>Perry walked into DEI. "I'm back!" he called.<p>

"Oh, good!" Heinz called from the lab. "I should be finished with the reversal in another day or two!"

Perry rushed into the lab. "Are you serious?!"

Heinz looked up from the chemicals he was working with. "Yes. But it's going to be incredibly painful. I was thinking maybe we could use a sedative..."

Perry waved him off. "Sure, yeah. You're the best!" he shouted, running to his room.

* * *

><p>Katrina leaned against a wall panting for breath. That was a close one. She almost got captured this time. She groaned inwardly. <em>Alex is gonna kill me.<em>

She crawled into the room and flopped onto her bed. Alex looked up from his laptop. "Kat!" he gasped, jumping up.

She looked over at him. "My dad's gonna kill you if he finds out you snuck into my room again," she muttered.

"Yeah, well, you need medical attention. Have you even looked at yourself lately?"

She smiled. "Medical kit's in my closet."

* * *

><p>Perry was trying to find his headphones. He couldn't find them anywhere. Which is why he found himself in Vanessa's room, looking for them. He opened a drawer. Found it.<p>

Just as he was about to leave, he heard voices. It was Vanessa and someone else. Katrina?

Panicking, he dove into the closet. He left the door open just a crack, barely enough to let him see the people walking into the room. It _was _Katrina and Vanessa.

"Aww, come on, you two are a pretty good couple," Kat said. "Even though you two end up in an argument every single time you see each other." She started laughing. "It's hilarious!"

Vanessa thought about it for a moment, then she started to laugh as well. "You're right! We _do _argue every time!"

"Maybe not such a good idea, then," Kat said. "What about Ferb? He certainly seems to like you."

"Yeah," Vanessa said, looking a bit distant. "He's cool."

Perry felt like he was going to pass out. Vanessa, having a crush on _Ferb? _That was, weird.

"What about you?" Vanessa said. "Got any boys you like?"

"Uhh..." she blushed, whispering something so soft Perry couldn't hear her._  
><em>

Vanessa's eyes widened. "You have a crush on my half-brother?!"


	5. Go where we haven't been

**I'm really on a roll here. Wonder why.**

* * *

><p>According to Heinz, the reversal was going to be delayed due to the fact that there was a L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N family picnic potluck this evening that they had to get ready for. They were supposed to bring something to the dinner, and Heinz was trying to figure out what.

"I'm going to spend the day at the mall with Kat," Vanessa said, giving her dad a peck on the cheek on her way out. "See you tonight."

That was when Perry zoned out. _Kat likes me,_ he thought. True, she'd never met him (didn't even know his name), but she liked him from what Vanessa had said about her half-brother. Would he ever get to talk to her, see her face-to-face, beyond stealing glances when she came over before darting into his room?

"Does that sound like a good idea?" Heinz asked.

Perry blinked. "Huh?"

Heinz shook his head. "I was saying that there was this spaghetti and meatballs recipe that my grandmother used to make. We could do that." He looked at the clock. "We have a few hours, we could probably run to the store, get the ingredients, and have it ready before lunch, just let it simmer on the stove until it's time to go to the picnic."

"That works."

Heinz was excited. No, not about the picnic, that he was dreading. In truth, the reversal was already complete, as a "potion" of sorts. He'd planned to surprise Perry by slipping it to him before the picnic. After all, Kat _was _Rodney's daughter. As much as he hated Rodney, he liked Kat, and wanted Perry to be happy.

They both enjoyed working together in the kitchen that morning. For a while they could almost forget that Perry was a platypus and Heinz was an evil scientist and his nemesis, and just focus on the fact that they were father and son.

* * *

><p>"I'm telling you, it's a bad idea!" Vanessa was saying. "Even worse than you wearing <em>that <em>to the picnic, or even you trying to ask out my brother during the picnic!"

Kat grinned. "First of all, my dad just handed this to me and said 'wear this to the picnic.' Secondly, what's wrong with me asking your brother out?"

Vanessa groaned. "Lots of things, trust me. In any case, there's no way you're getting me to wear that to the picnic."

"Why? Because it's not black?" A dark-haired girl asked as she walked up to the pair.

Kat waved. "Hey, Chloe."

Chloe nodded. "Kat. Vanessa." She turned to Vanessa. "Come on, you know everyone's expecting you to wear black, you always do. Why not shake things up a bit?"

Vanessa sighed. "You girls aren't taking no for an answer, are you?"

"Nope!" Kat said.

"Ugh, fine, I'll wear it. At least it's a dark color."

Chloe and Kat high-fived each other. "Hey, has anyone seen Nina?"

* * *

><p>Heinz and Perry stopped for lunch. "Lemonade?" Heinz asked, opening the fridge.<p>

"Sure. Umm, Heinz, just one question," Perry said. He still wasn't comfortable with calling him "Dad" just yet.

"What is it?" Heinz asked, setting a glass of lemonade in front of Perry.

Perry took a long drink before saying, "It's a family picnic, right? So, how are you going to explain me away?"

Heinz smiled as Perry took another drink. "Don't worry, I have it all figured out."

"What's... your-" Perry started to ask as he passed out.

Heinz just smiled as he picked Perry up and put him in bed.


	6. Life on another plane

**Here goes what will probably be my last update before the weekend. I won't have much time until Monday, so-**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

><p>Just after Heinz closed the door, he heard a knock on the door. He wasn't expecting anyone, Vanessa wasn't meeting up with him until the picnic. Nervous, he grabbed his handheld Disintegrate-inator as he looked through the peep-hole.<p>

He almost used the weapon, considering who was at the door. "What do you want, Rodney?"

"Have you seen Katrina?" Rodney asked.

"I heard she was going to the mall with Vanessa," Heinz said, closing the door.

"Wait just a second," Rodney said. "I'm not done with you yet. There are rumors going around L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N about your son. Some people are saying that you turned him into an animal because you were _desperate _to have a nemesis."

"That's not true!" Heinz said.

"Oh really? Where is he?"

Heinz shrugged. "Asleep in his room. You know how boys are, sleeping until noon whenever they get the chance."

"Why don't you show him to me?"

"Wouldn't want to wake him up. He's nasty when he wakes up."

"Well, if I don't have proof your son is, in fact, human, I might just have to validate those rumors."

Heinz glanced at the clock. The transformation should be complete. At least, complete enough to fool Rodney. He nodded, leading his rival down the hall. He opened the door to Perry's room. "Satisfied?"

* * *

><p>Perry opened his eyes. He stretched, yawning. <em>Man, I really need to stop staying up late, <em>he thought, getting out of bed.

Heinz knocked on the door of his son's room. "Perry, are you up yet? We need to get ready to go!"

Perry looked at the clock. _Man, four-thirty already?_ He stood up. That's when he realized something was wrong. Everything was... smaller than before. His legs started to feel weak, buckling beneath him. He fell to the floor.

"Perry!" Heinz shouted. "Are you all right?" He grabbed Perry's hand. That's when it clicked.

"I'm... human?!" he shouted.

Heinz nodded. "Wanted to surprise you. How does it feel?"

He shrugged. "Different, I guess. Umm, I suppose I should put some clothes on, right?"

Heinz laughed. "Yes, you should. It would be a bad idea to go to the picnic naked. Why don't you take a shower, and I'll lay out some clothes for you to wear to the picnic? Call if you need help with anything."

Perry walked into the bathroom, pausing to take a look at himself in the mirror. He didn't even recognize himself. He was a teenage boy, around Vanessa's age, with a tall, muscular body. Not body-builder muscular, but strong with a well-defined six-pack. He had the same blue eyes as his father, but his hair color was a mix of Hienz and Linda, light auburn. His hair was messy, but he'd just woken up, after all. His bangs were a bit longer than he would have liked, but that was okay.

Showering as a human was strange. Instead of the water hitting his fur, it now directly struck his skin. It felt nice.

Of course, his mind ended up wandering to Kat. The thought of holding her in his arms, of kissing her, of-

Okay, maybe he should stop thinking of physical things to do with her. _The mind of a teenage boy, _Perry thought.

"Perry, are you all right?" Heinz shouted. "You've been in there a while!"

"Coming!" Perry called back.


	7. There's no guarantee

**Sorry it took so long. Had a serious case of writer's block, brought about by a cold. Colds cause headaches, nasty ones, and headaches make it even harder to think clearly. Somehow, I ended up listening to "Perfect Enemy" while writing this.**

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian: Yeah, I know. **

**SPOILER ALERT: Perry meets Kat for the first time, and things get crazy. Also, I will start using POVs.**

* * *

><p>The ride to the picnic was quiet. Heinz was hoping Perry wouldn't give anything away (or freak out when he saw Kat), and Perry was wondering if he'd ever work up the guts to talk to Kat. The picnic was at the beach. For once, L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N wasn't meeting in a warehouse or something.<p>

In the meantime, Kat, Vanessa, Chloe, and Nina were also walking up to the event. As the only daughters of any of the evil scientists in the organization, they were very popular among said organization's sons. Their goal- taunt the ones that were going to turn out like their parents (which were most of them) by looking as attractive as possible. Well, except for Vanessa. She was a bit of a rebel, as usual. At least she was stylish. They were the girl part of TAE (Teens Against Evil), a group they'd formed a few years ago.

"Okay, spill it about your brother," Chloe said. "Is he gonna be here, and is he evil or not?"

"I don't know, and definitely no," Vanessa said. As usual, the boys were drooling over the group. Even Kat, who was still in her shorts and T-shirt. The other girls were a bit more- ah- revealing.

"Let's get changed into our swimsuits," Nina suggested, already running off to the bathrooms. There wasn't a one-piece among them, all had bikinis. Well, except for Kat. Her dad made her wear a T-shirt as the top of her swimsuit.

Perry walked out of the bathroom. He wasn't used to wearing clothes, but still, just wearing swimming trunks felt awkward. Heinz wasn't changing, it was really just everyone's kids that were in swimsuits.

Heinz waved him over. "Come eat!" he called.

Perry rushed over to the table. Yeah, everyone had brought stuff, some of which he was really looking forward to trying.

**_Perry's POV_**

"Um, excuse me."

I turned around, and was face-to-face with Kat.

"Uh..."

She giggled. "Are you new or something? I don't think I've seen you before. I'm Kat."

"I... uh... yeah. Yeah, I'm new here. I'm, uh-" _Come on Perry, think! She's a daughter of an evil scientist, she'll think the name "Perry" is at least a bit suspicious! You need an alias! _"Wolfram! My name's Wolfram, Wolfram Doofenshmirtz!"

"You're Heinz's kid?" Kat smiled. "I've been wanting to get to know you."

"You remember the rules," a blonde said. "No touchie-touchie."

"Aww, come on, Nina. It's Vanessa's brother. Totally within limits."

"All right." She looked at me. "Hey, are you guys up for a round of beach volleyball? Everyone else is about to get started."

"That sounds like a great idea!" She grabbed my hand. "Come on!"

"I don't really know how to play," I said.

"Don't worry, I'll show you!"

As it turned out, Kat had convinced her father (Rodney, _eeeew) _to host the picnic at the beach so all of Teens Against Evil could meet up and have fun. A couple of them were kids of evil scientists, and often helped sabotage their parents' schemes. They did a lot of activism as well, protesting certain laws they were against, fighting for animal rights, etc. TAE had actually become a secret global organization over the years.

Essentially, I ended up spending the afternoon partying with other teens on the beach. In the back of my mind I knew I should have been at the L.O.V.E.M.U.F.F.I.N meeting, gathering info for Major Monogram...

But oh well. The adults were still talking when we all started a bonfire. The rest of the group started dancing, and Kat pulled me into a dance at the fringe of the group. A slow song started to play.

She leaned her head against my chest, and my heart started to pound. "Today was fun," she whispered, smiling. "We should do this again."

"Y-yeah."

_**End of POV**_

All of a sudden, Perry passed out. Kat let out a small cry as he started to transform, turning back into a platypus.

She snuck up to Heinz. "Umm, your son had a bit of a problem," she said quietly.

"What is it?" he asked.

"He turned into a platypus. He's your nemesis, isn't he?"

Heinz nodded. "Don't tell your father about this. It would ruin us both."

"Wouldn't dream of it."


	8. We lose our feelings, but

**Sorry it took so long to update. My inspiration DIED thanks to College Trig. Quarter's over, so my brain is free to write.**

**Galaxina-the-Seedrian: Well, here you go.**

**Guest: Wolfram or Perry, it works either way. Glad you liked the TAE, they'll probably make another appearance.**

**Hyper-Blossom Z: You're about to find out.**

**Oddly enough, I wrote this to "So Alone" by Anna Blue. I spend_ way_ too much time with YouTube.**

* * *

><p>Kat closed her eyes, flopping onto her bed. She didn't know what to think. Who was Wolfram, really? A platypus turned into a boy? Or a boy that turned into a platypus? Was he really Heinz's son? As a platypus, he looked just like that OWCA agent she'd seen once. Heinz's nemesis, if she remembered correctly. Did something happen when he was trying to foil Heinz's plans? But then, why would he take his nemesis in as his son? That would be awkward.<p>

She'd been like this for the past two days. She'd locked herself in her room, not speaking to anyone, only coming out to take care of her body's requirements to keep functioning. For once, her father actually seemed concerned about her, but she bet that was just because she wasn't cleaning the house or cooking for him or her brother. Vanessa had called her a few times, so had her other friends. But she didn't answer them.

She groaned. Why did he make her feel like this? She barely knew him, but she couldn't stop thinking about him. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but she'd secretly been about to kiss him. A slow blush spread across her cheeks. The way she felt in his arms...

The door to her room flew open. Vanessa, Chloe and Nina strode into the room. "We need to talk, girl," Nina said. "You can't stay in your room forever."

"Yes I can."

"Is it my brother?" Vanessa asked. "My dad told me a bit of what happened, at least what he got from P-Wolfram."

She looked at her friend. "Yeah. I can't stop thinking about him."

"Oooh, sounds like our girl's got a crush," Chloe teased.

"Why don't you talk to him? I bet he feels the same way," Nina said.

"No way!" Kat protested. "The way it ended... I don't know. I don't know what to think. I like him, but I don't know about him. I don't know what's real about him, I barely know him."

"I know what'll take him off your mind," Chloe said. "Remember the protest scheduled for next week?"

"Ohmygod! Is it really next week?"

All three girls nodded.

"We have to finish getting ready! I have to get the word out, work on a billion other things..."

The girls looked at each other and smiled.

* * *

><p>"Come on Perry, you have to come out of your room at <em>some <em>point," Heinz said.

"No, I don't," came the reply from the other side of the door. Like Kat, Perry had locked himself in his room for the past two days. Only he wasn't coming out.

"I could come in there and force you."

"You wouldn't dare."

He called his bluff. Crap. What was he going to do about this? He had no idea how to deal with an emotional, moody teenager. He'd never gone through this himself, his love life was too pathetic. Besides, he didn't have the identity crisis Perry had.

He sighed. "I put some food by the door. Feel free to grab it when you get hungry."

He walked into the study (AN: I bet he has one) when he heard the front door open. "I'm home!" Vanessa shouted.

Heinz walked out to greet his daughter. "Vanessa! You're back! How's Kat?"

"Confused. She's nuts about Perry, but she doesn't know what exactly to think about him."

"At least she still likes him," Heinz said. "If only we could get him out of his room."

"Maybe if he could go back to being human," Vanessa suggested.

"Working on that. I'm planning to create a Human-inator for it. Much better at making inators. But that still might not work."

"What if he had a chance to see Kat again?" Vanessa said. "TAE's organizing a protest next Saturday in front of city hall. I could take him along."

"That just might work," Heinz said hopefully.

* * *

><p>Perry sighed, curling up on his bed. There was no way he was <em>ever <em>coming out of his room. After that night...

Being human was great. There was a lot he could do as a teenage boy he couldn't do as a platypus, and he could see a lot more, too. But being with Kat was even better. She was amazing. She was beautiful and nice and observant and smart. She was perfect. She probably thought he was a freak now, after seeing him turn into a platypus. She probably hated him, wanted nothing to do with him.


	9. The time is fading

**Thank you! Sorry it's kinda short, my brain is only partly functional. Turns out, you really _can _be so stressed you make yourself sick.**

**BlackShadowScythe: I did not know that. That _is _ironic. **

**Written to "Rhythm of the Night" by LOONA.**

* * *

><p>"Ready?" Doofenshmirtz asked. Perry gave him a silent thumbs-up. After holing up in his room for almost a week, they finally managed to get him out by telling him that Heinz had made a Humaninator to change Perry back, and that Vanessa would take him to a protest Kat would be at.<p>

He stepped onto the platform. Heinz fired the ray and the inator exploded.

"Perry?(_cough, cough) _Are you okay?"

The smoke cleared. Perry was grinning, looking at his hands. It worked.

* * *

><p>She sighed, looking though yet another rack of clothing. Normally she stuck to the shadows for this kind of thing, but Nina finally managed to talk her into giving a pep talk to the crowd during the protest.<p>

So she needed to look presentable. Everyone knew there would be a news crew, and it would be in front of City Hall. There would be thousands of people they already knew were coming, several dozens of them belonging to TAE, among them being Vanessa and her brother. When Vanessa told her Wolfram was coming, that was what finally convinced her to go along with Nina's plan.

She smiled, pulling out an outfit. Finally, something she could agree to wear. Just as she was leaving the store, her phone went off.

"Hello? Who is this?"

_"Come now, that's no way to greet me."_

Her eyes widened. "Hatter?"

_"Good girl, you recognize my voice. Tell me, what has TAE's fearless leader been up to, hmn?"_

"None of your business. Aren't you in jail?"

_"I was. I'm surprised your agents haven't picked up on the fact that I've escaped. They're usually so good about that sort of thing."_

"And of course _you'd _know, traitor."

He hissed. _"That's harsh, even for you. Our goals are the same, Kat. To make the world a better place. I'm going to create a world you always dreamed about- a world without hunger, without fear, without poverty or crime. You're free to join me, you've always known that."_

"At what cost would this world be?" she snarled. "How many people would have to die to get there? People aren't going to just do whatever you say, you know that."

_"No, but they _will _do whatever you say. With your powers, it will be peaceful. The entire world, happy and perfect, and no lives will need to be sacrificed."_

"At the cost of everyone's free will? Not going to happen."

_"You will join me, Kat. Not today, but someday, and it will be soon." _Then he hung up, and Kat was left to deal with what he said.

Hatter was back. She'd arrested him a few weeks ago, and he'd been kept in TAE's highest security prison cell at HQ. (They had wealthy partners who were willing to help pay for their bases and tech. Still, most of their communications were through e-mail, texts, and social media. After all, they _were _teenagers.) No, it wasn't Hatter that was back. She needed to remember his real name, who he really was- he was Ashton Autumn, the man she'd always...

No, don't think about that. He's not like that anymore. He's a criminal, dangerous to the entire world. And she had to stop him, before he reached his goal.


End file.
